Deborah Hale (writing as Elizabeth Charles) tops today’s Buffet with Confessions of a Courtesan, a story that delves into a side of the Georgian era rarely seen in romantic fiction. As one reviewer put it, “this book hits the mark as both a romance novel, historical novel, and was just a fun read all together.”
Deborah’s first novel, the Georgian-era romance My Lord Protector, won RWA’s Golden Heart award in 1999 and was nominated for the RITA for “Best First Book.” Since then she has written more than 20 novels in the genres of historical romance, inspirational romance, and otherworld fantasy.
Deborah and her family live in Nova Scotia, Canada. She is currently writing more historical romance novels in settings that include Regency England, Georgian England, medieval England, post-Civil War America and colonial Canada.
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Confessions of a Courtesan
Historical Fiction > British
Author: Elizabeth Charles, Deborah Hale
This historical novel is based on the improbable but true rags to riches story that culminated in the greatest romance of the Georgian era…
Left without the protection of family or fortune at a young age, Lizzie Cane learns the hungry, brutal reality of life on the streets of 18th century London. She is rescued by a handsome young man and loses her heart to him, only to discover he is not what he appears. This experience teaches Lizzie that if she is to make her way in the world, she cannot rely on anyone but herself. Her only option is to barter her youth and beauty in one of London’s exclusive brothels. The luxurious life she finds there has a sordid, even dangerous, side but she quickly discovers what men want and what they can give her in return.
With intelligence, determination and luck, Lizzie rises from the anonymity of the brothel to the pinnacle of high harlotry. As Elizabeth Armistead, she becomes one of the most sought-after courtesans of the Georgian era, making conquests of earls, dukes and finally becoming a royal mistress to the handsome, young Prince of Wales. Not content to be a mere plaything, Elizabeth Armistead also becomes confidante and hostess to some of the most fascinating men of her time – the roguish, radical followers of Georgian era statesman Charles James Fox.
Elizabeth is determined to acquire the material security that will keep her from ending up back on the streets when her charms fade. To accomplish that, she must take care to live by the Courtesan’s Creed. That means keeping plenty of gentlemen vying for her favors and playing off rivals against one another for the coveted prize of a place in her bed. Then she must negotiate the most advantageous terms for her services. She must flaunt the wealth and power of her patrons by spending vast amounts of their money to dress in the most lavish styles, wear the most magnificent jewels and be seen at the most fashionable places of entertainment.
Her unique position in Georgian era society gives Elizabeth Armistead a ringside seat to the most important events of that turbulent period – wars, riots, threats of invasion, hotly contested elections and even a sensational murder! Then, at the height of her career, she risks everything she has struggled to gain by breaking the cardinal rule of the Courtesan’s Creed …Never fall in love!
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Sara’s Game: Book One (The Sara Winthrop Series)
Women’s Fiction > Psychological
Author: Ernie Lindsey
Two years ago, Sara’s husband left for the gym one morning…and never came back. His car was found. He wasn’t. Unbelievably, the police report said, “No foul play suspected.” There were a few unreliable sightings over the following months, but little else.
Now, on the last day before summer break, her three children have gone missing from their schools, all at the same time.
And the note under her windshield wiper asks one foreboding question: Are you ready to play the game?
Ozma of Oz [Illustrated]
Fantasy > Fiction Classics
Author: L. Frank Baum, John R. Neill
![Ozma of Oz [Illustrated]](https://i0.wp.com/ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51h2V6f3zYL._SL160_.jpg?w=640)
In 1907, L. Frank Baum responded to countless readers’ letters, clamoring for more tales about the Land of Oz. What had started as a stand-alone fairytale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, gave way to another stand-alone sequel in 1904, The Marvelous Land of Oz. But it is the third Oz book, Ozma of Oz, where Baum and his illustrating partner, John R. Neill, produce the first Oz book that establishes the indelible tone and formula for the rest of the series.
The successful approach in Ozma of Oz combines the best of the first two Oz books, starting with the return of the uniquely “American” Dorothy — who was absent in the second book — and integrating some of the darker fantasy elements and realistic illustrations of the sequel.
Includes all the original illustrations (over 100) by John R. Neill, many of them in color, and a new Preface by Oz expert Joseph Nusbaum.
Off My Rocker: One Man’s Tasty, Twisted, Star-Studded Quest for Everlasting Music
Biographies & Memoirs > Entertainers
Author: Kenny Weissberg
He messed with James Brown’s perfect hair. He counted a pile of cash with Aretha Franklin in her hotel room. He ate popcorn with Leonard Cohen. He cured a dying sparrow with Joan Baez. He got bamboozled by Chuck Berry.
Kenny Weissberg followed the music his entire career. A disc jockey, critic, rock singer, bandleader, and concert promoter, he lived all his childhood dreams—some of which turned into nightmares.
Off My Rocker presents a rollicking, backstage look at the joys and painful realities of a life devoted to music. In lively prose and vivid detail, Weissberg shares stories about the eccentric cast of characters who cross his path, including a spectacular array of showbiz legends. Equal parts spicy confessional and pop-culture adventure, with trenchant insights throughout, this page-turner of a memoir will stay with you long after the closing credits.
Untouched: The Girl in the Box #2
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author: Robert J. Crane
Still haunted by her last encounter with Wolfe and searching for her mother, Sienna Nealon must put aside her personal struggles when a new threat emerges – Aleksandr Gavrikov, a metahuman so powerful, he could destroy entire cities – and he’s focused on bringing the Directorate to its knees.
Disruptive Possibilities: How Big Data Changes Everything
Computer Science > Information Theory
Author: Jeffrey Needham
Internet-scale computing—popularly known as big data—has more disruptive potential than any information technology in the past 40 years. As author Jeffrey Needham points out in this eye-opening book, big data can provide unprecedented insight into user habits, giving enterprises a huge market advantage. It will also inspire organizations to change the way they function.
This book takes you on a journey of discovery into the emerging world of big data, from its relatively simple technology to the ways it differs from cloud computing. But the big story of big data is the disruption of enterprise status quo, especially vendor-driven technology silos and budget-driven departmental silos. In the highly collaborative environment needed to make big data work, silos simply don’t fit.
TODAY’S BARGAINS……………What’s this?
The Green Line
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: E.C. Diskin
Regularly $9.99, Today $1.99
In The Green Line, Abby Donovan’s decade-long dream of partnership at her prestigious Chicago law firm is just months from fruition. But after a late-night train mishap drops her into a world of drugs, gangs, murder, and corruption, everything changes. Abby is haunted by what and who she’s seen, and the mysterious death of a kind stranger. Though her work suffers, deadlines are missed, and her promotion hangs in the balance, she’s compelled to investigate with the help of an unlikely new friend. But Abby’s investigation jeopardizes more than her career. Someone is watching and he’s not going to let a nosy lawyer expose his scam.
In this engaging debut, E.C. Diskin, a former Chicago attorney, takes us on a fast-paced thrill ride with a believable and flawed heroine. Readers will relate to her, fear for her, and get a glimpse inside Chicago’s best and worst. From the roughest streets of the west side to the estates of the North Shore, Abby Donovan and the unexpected villains of The Green Line will keep you turning pages late into the night in this riveting new thriller while shining light on a little-known, often-used, and widely-abused legal maneuver.
Waiting for Snow in Havana: Confessions of a Cuban Boy
Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National
Author: Carlos Eire
Regularly $9.99, Today $2.99
“Have mercy on me, Lord, I am Cuban.” In 1962, Carlos Eire was one of 14,000 children airlifted out of Havana—exiled from his family, his country, and his own childhood by Fidel Castro’s revolution. This stunning memoir is a vibrant and evocative look at Latin America from a child’s unforgettable experience.
Waiting for Snow in Havana is both an exorcism and an ode to a paradise lost. For the Cuba of Carlos’s youth—with its lizards and turquoise seas and sun-drenched siestas—becomes an island of condemnation once a cigar-smoking guerrilla named Fidel Castro ousts President Batista on January 1, 1959. Suddenly the music in the streets sounds like gunfire. Christmas is made illegal, political dissent leads to imprisonment, and too many of Carlos’s friends are leaving Cuba for a place as far away and unthinkable as the United States. Carlos will end up there, too, and fulfill his mother’s dreams by becoming a modern American man—even if his soul remains in the country he left behind.
Narrated with the urgency of a confession, Waiting for Snow in Havana is a eulogy for a native land and a loving testament to the collective spirit of Cubans everywhere.
ORBS
Science Fiction > Alien Invasion
Author: Nicholas Sansbury Smith
Regularly $2.99, Today $0.99
THE year is 2061, and the planet is dying. Cataclysmic solar storms force leaders from around the world to finally put aside their differences and agree on one thing–to jump ship. The human race is headed to Mars.
When Dr. Sophie Winston is hired by New Tech Corporation to test a Biosphere deep within the heart of Cheyenne Mountain, she believes it’s part of the mission to save the world. Their results will help prepare NTC for the three-year flight to the red planet. A flight Dr. Winston has been promised a seat on.
Just days into their six-month assignment, things start to go wrong. When the blast doors hiss open, Winton’s team finds a vastly changed world outside. Humans are gone, vanished without a trace, but they aren’t the only thing missing. The planet’s water appears gone, too.
As the team journeys deeper into Colorado Springs, they find thousands of luminous blue orbs lining the streets. It isn’t until they accidentally uncover what’s inside that they realize the nightmare that has been unleashed.
Mini Habits: Smaller Habits, Bigger Results
Self-Help > Motivational
Author: Stephen Guise
Regularly $5.99, Today $2.99
When I decided to start exercising consistently 10 years ago, this is what actually happened:
- I tried “getting motivated.” It worked sometimes.
- I tried setting audacious big goals. I almost always failed them.
- I tried to make changes last. They didn’t.
Like most people who try to change and fail, I assumed that I was the problem.
Then one afternoon–after another failed attempt to get motivated to exercise–I (accidentally) started my first mini habit. I initially committed to do one push-up, and it turned into a full workout. I was shocked. This “stupid idea” wasn’t supposed to work. I was shocked again when my success with this strategy continued for months (and to this day).
A mini habit is a very small positive behavior that you force yourself to do every day; its “too small to fail” nature makes it weightless, deceptively powerful, and a superior habit-building strategy. You will have no choice but to believe in yourself when you’re always moving forward. The barrier to the first step is so low that even depressed or “stuck” people can find early success and begin to reverse their lives right away. And if you think one push-up a day is too small to matter, I’ve got one heck of a story for you!
Meta
Science Fiction > Adventure
Author: Tom Reynolds
Regularly $2.99, Today $0.99
It’s been ten years since Connor Connolly lost his parents in ‘The Battle’; a fight between The Governor and Jones, two of the world’s strongest metas. Before ‘The Battle’ the world had been full of metas, super-powered humans whose amazing abilities came from mysterious wristbands. Since that day one has never been seen again.
Now 16 years old, Connor lives in Bay View City with his older brother Derrick, a meta-obsessed blogger, where he’s just trying to keep his head down long enough to survive high school. All of that changes the night he attempts to save a girl’s life and wakes up to find the first new pair of metabands anyone has seen wrapped around his wrists.
Connor soon finds an unlikely ally in Midnight, a masked vigilante who helps him learn how to harness his new abilities, while also trying to balance his summer job at the lake. As a meta, Connor becomes known as Omni, potentially the most powerful meta the world has ever seen, but it isn’t long before he finds out he’s no longer alone…
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2